


Dreams of a Better World

by NestPlaster



Category: The 100 (TV)
Genre: Bondage, Candles, Dream Sex, Earth, F/F, F/M, Fire, Flash Forward, Intinct, Knifeplay, Leather, Light Angst, Light BDSM, Light Bondage, Outdoor Sex, Pine Needles, Rope Bondage, Sexual Tension, Shameless Smut, Submission, The Scene of Pine in the Air, Tied To Trees, Unresolved Sexual Tension, Visions, flogger, primal
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-25
Updated: 2016-10-28
Packaged: 2018-07-26 14:11:07
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 4,402
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7577011
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NestPlaster/pseuds/NestPlaster
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Clarke must guide her people forward as best she can on a new world full of unknowns -- but is some larger force guiding her forward towards a better world as well?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Visions of the Future

Clarke huddled on the cold steel floor of the landing craft and pulled her jacket closer around her shoulders. The craft was thick with bodies and heavy with the noises and smells of humanity on their first night on the ground. Many were bold enough to sleep outside cradled in the strange yielding earth, smelling the pines and listening to the strange whispers of the moving air -- and some were still too excited to sleep at all. Clarke yearned for the outdoors but knew that caution was need here, and with enough care and some fortune there would be other nights to explore this new world.

She tilted her head and looked across the floor. Near the back Bellamy sat leaning against a bulwark, too nervous about his tenuous position of power to even lay down, even as exhaustion weighed on him. To her other side lay the door and, somewhere near under the stars, Finn. She could not help but sense a tension between the two, in addition to the tension she already felt with both. They should be celebrating this event, but she could only worry about the days to come as her eyes finally closed into the welcome embrace of sleep, to dream of a better tomorrow.

* * *

Clarke felt the soft cushion of pine needles fallen on earth beneath her as she opened her eyes and pushed her shoulders off the ground. All around trees rose into the heavens, the sunlight sneaking down between their branches and illuminating the brilliant green that dominated the terrain on the ground. She looked skyward towards the sun, moderated by the atmosphere and almost tolerable, blinking against the light. A shadow fell across her face and she was blinded for a moment by the unexpected intrusion.

Blinking hard, Clarke refocused her eyes on the figure standing between her and the sun. She was regal, and Clarke could not help but inhale as her eyes moved up from the toe to face. The interloper was dressed from boot to shoulder in mixed leather and fabric, functional yet clearly well crafted and well fit. A wide stance showcased the muscled frame and squared shoulders, and Clarke finally looked up into a pair of stunning green eyes which showed a cold confidence tempered by a core of humanity that could not be concealed. The woman planted the butt of her spear between Clarkes legs and spoke a simple command: "Stand."

* * *

Clarke couldn't remember standing but she was, suddenly nose to nose with the woman before her. They locked eyes and Clarke could only get a sense of the other features -- elegant cheekbones, flawless skin with a color that embraced the sunlight rather than harshly reflecting it, and lips so flawless as to threaten to draw her gaze downwards. "You are my prisoner now." The lips moved and the voice sent shivers down Clarkes spine, regal yet feminine, young while still betraying a deep well of experience and hardship.

The woman reached for Clarkes hands and spun her around, pressing her torso firmly against a tree, drawing up close behind her. Clarke could feel hips pressing into her, firm pressure against her shoulders, and the whispering touch of those lips against her earlobe. "You are mine" the voice whispered, "and you already know it."

* * *

Clarke felt the soft cushion of pine needles on fallen earth beneath her as she writhed against her bonds. Her wrists were bound together and tied off to a tree just within her field of view, stretched up beyond her head, and her ankles each deserved a tree of their own, holding her legs apart. Her captor knelt close between her open thighs, legs pressing against her own, the leather pants cool against her bare flesh. "You know this is right" the woman said, leaning forward and tracing one hand against the hot skin, drawing a line up from the hip and across the ribs to cradle a breast. Her fingers toyed with a nipple as she leaned in closer, those lips perilously near Clarkes own, and she whispered "You know this is inevitable."

A second hand pressed firmly between Clarkes legs and she arched forward into the embrace, pressing hard against the hand. Clarkes lips rose up and met their match in a warm embrace as she closed her eyes and surrendered to the moment.

* * *

Clarke gasped for air, her mouth and eyes flying open as one, and sat up. Disoriented by the hard floor and lack of restraints she panted hard, every muscle in her torso tense as she sat up and blinked hard against the dim light.

Around her dozens breathed deep in sleep, lit by the faintest hint of dawn leaking in past the fabric draped over the door of the landing craft. Clarke sank back down and looked up at the steel framing the second level of the ship, but all she saw was a pair of piercing eyes and lips that made her ache with yearning for what this planet may yet provide.


	2. The Bunker (Clarke/Finn)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Clarke and Finn share their first moment together, but not entirely alone. Clarke feels the pull of the future.

Clarke sunk into the bed -- a real bed, the first real bed on Earth -- and looked up at Finn as he peeled off his shirt, revealing a well muscled torso. The air smelled of dust and paraffin wax, the burning candles resurrecting this space and filling it with human life again after so long buried beneath the soil.

Finn jumped into the bed, his body landing heavily but carefully astride Clarke. Broad shoulders and rounded biceps held him up safely above her even as he came to an abrupt stop, and Finn darted forward for a kiss. His eyes were alive with passion, animated as they so rarely were in camp surrounded by all the others. He looked like he was about to speak, but instead pressed his lips gently against Clarkes collarbone.

* * *

Finn lifted Clarkes shirt over her head, her arms falling gracefully above her head as the fabric was cast aside. He lowered himself close, supporting his weight on one forearm while allowing their torsos to touch hip to nipple, hot skin pressing against hot skin.

Clarke looked like she might speak and Finn responded with another kiss, deeper this time, his lips working desperately against hers with a need that sprang from deep within. His other hand reached up and ran along the length of Clarkes arm, shoulder to wrist, finally clasping her hand and intertwining their fingers in another minor embrace. Clarkes grip tightened against his own as he drew up for a brief gasp of air before resuming his exploration of her mouth.

* * *

Clarke felt dizzy with desire, the heat of the moment making the underground bunker feel all the more close and intimate, the air heavy with the scent of candles and sweat. For a moment she had a flash of pines, of open air and the hum of insects, of ~her~; but then she was back in the moment. Finn's gaze held her own. He looked down at her with eyes bright with passion and need, eyes also hovering on the edge of action with a question. Without hesitation she looked back and answered.

Finn pressed forward into Clarke, pants and undergarments long since cast aside in their desperate exploration of each other, and lost himself in the moment. Clarke answered him, arching up as he pressed inwards, embracing him, calling him forward even as he drew back for another thrust. Their eyes closed, the physical pleasure too intense for either to allow the distraction of sight.

* * *

Finn lived in the moment, losing himself in the freedom of action and experience, fulfilled as he was only at times like this. His body tensed and eased in motions Clarke could only view as poetry. She opened her eyes and watched with awe, fulfilled in part by the ability to take Finn to this place, where he was freed of the burdens of the outside world. She felt the sensations rise to a focal point and tensed, arced, came.

Clarke could feel her muscles tense as she reached the pinnacle of her pleasure, and from that sudden embrace Finn pulled back, hard cock leaping into view between them. The air itself seemed to halt in it's lazy heated circles for a moment, for the count of a heartbeat. The pause acknowledged Finn's cock erupted, thick ropes of cum launching forward between them. Clarke could not help but smile.

* * *

Clarke laid back in the bed. Finn at her side was already breathing the smooth, untroubled breath of the sleeping. She looked over at his face, peaceful now as it so rarely was at camp, a troublesome lock of hair already fallen over one eye. She looked back at the ceiling and breathed deep of the candle wax, and wondered if she could not smell just a hint of pine in the air.

Clarke looked up and closed her eyes to sleep, perchance to dream.


	3. The Clarity of the Unconscious

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Clarke slips into a dream once more, finding herself with an increasingly familiar stranger once again. She learns a name, and gains a glimpse into her own deepest needs and desires. Despite the twists and turns of dream logic, the path leads clearly towards a destination.

Clarke opened her eyes as if from a blink. Sunlight filtered in through the loose knit weave of the tent wall, unfamiliar fabric breaking up the harsh light of the day while not denying the illumination. A light breeze tentatively wafted through the tent, carrying with it the scent of the forest, damp as if after rain. The furnishings were unfamiliar yet comforting, wood and animal pelts, a certain spartan opulence.

"You find your way to me again." The voice came from behind Clarke and was both familiar and unknown, a stranger she had heard before. Knowing already what she would find Clarke spun slowly around, the room wheeling and revealing the green eyed woman.

* * *

The woman stood tall, commanding the space with a calm presence that pulled at Clarkes spirit in an unfamiliar way. Her eyes were framed by black paint which drew out their color and they held Clarkes as firmly as any chain ever could. The slightest of sidelong glances left impressions of fitted leather clothing, of hair worked into functional braids framing surprisingly delicate cheeks. Clarke yearned to see more but kept returning to those eyes.

"Lexa." The woman spoke the single word and it felt like a revelation from the gods. Clarke felt the floor give way, although she remained standing firm on the earthen floor of the tent. The walls grew distant and the air felt too close, too hot. "You will know me as Lexa."

* * *

Clarke looked up into Lexas face and stirred, feeling soft fur against her shoulders as she lay on the bed. Clarke did not remember laying down but was so comfortable it hardly seemed to matter. She watched Lexa, standing over the bed, reach down and run one hand down her ribs and across her stomach. Stretching forward in response she pushed herself upwards, quickly reaching the limits of her restraints.

Velvet soft fibre ropes wrapped about Clarkes wrists and ankles, securing her to the four corners of the bed. Clarke relaxed as the hand raised upwards again, settling down into her place. Here, now, she did not have to worry about the burden of command. She craved another touch but a distant part of her mind recognised that she could not control when it might come.

* * *

Lexa pulled her arm from behind her hip and draped the strands of the leather flogger gently across Clarkes hip. The leather was cool for a moment, a slight relief in the heat of the day. Clarke gasped at the touch, and breathed in deeply again as the tips of the leather were pulled slowly and gently up her stomach. The leather rounded a breast and brushed against one aching nipple before being raised up, and again Clarke tensed against the rope trying to follow the touch upwards before relaxing back into position.

"You found me here" said the woman as Clarke looked up to again find herself trapped in those intense green eyes, "and you will find me again." She raised her arm high above, her hand nearly brushing the roof of the tent, the sunlight speckling the leather strands of the flogger as they hang limp behind her forearm. Her back arced in a perfect picture of feminine grace as she tensed and brought her arm down. The leather strands of the flogger echoed her curves as they flew down towards Clarke, her legs held spread. "Find me!" she commanded as the leather flew towards eager flesh.

* * *

Clarke opened her eyes and breathed in deeply at the moment of impact. The air smelled of wax and dust. The walls felt too close around her. To her side Finn stirred, not yet awake.

She looked up at the concrete ceiling of the bunker and in the shadows saw green eyes looking back.


	4. Interlude - A Moment of Clarity, Lost

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lexa has a revelation in a rare moment of meditation, interrupted as quickly as it arrives.

Lexa perched on a stool in her tent, sharpening a knife. It was a rare and treasured moment to be alone and free of the burden of leadership. People understood that a warrior must remain in touch with their weapons, and granted her this time to maintain the tools of her trade. Lexa doubted that they understood how much more important was the maintenance of her mind, quiet moments granted by mundane activity.

Her mind drifted and she thought of the sky people, turning the problem over in her head. The rasp of steel on stone fell into a rhythm and her mind drifted, potential strategies arranging in varying configurations. She was familiar with the old conflicts, with the clans and the mountain people -- but what motivated these new intruders. Why did they come here, what were they like?

* * *

Sky blue eyes looked up at Lexa from a pale face. Their depths showed compassion, and the pain that comes with deep empathy. Lexa reached down to brush a strand of blond hair back from those eyes, holding her hand longer than needed in a caring embrace. Pale lips parted, as if to speak, and Lexa waited to hear...

* * *

"Commander"

Lexa snapped back to the moment, knife and stone idle in her slack hands. Gustus stood at the door to her tent waiting patiently for a response. Lexa sheathed her blade and stood. Duty called once more, but the vision spoke of prophecy. She had much to reflect on.


	5. Haunted

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Clarke must maintain her composure as the dreams come faster and harder.

Clarke remembers the smell of evergreens wafting gently through the air. She remembers sunlight leaking through holes in the branches, dappled across naked skin. She remembers moss soft but firm against her back, a gentle rolling stone supporting her just right as she arched back and pressed her shoulders into the fragrant soil.

The sky is a bright blue when visible through the gently waving branches of the trees, a blue that can never be seen from space, only from the earth. Clarke tilts her head forward as a face slides up into her view. Familiar green eyes look down, pinning her to the earth as surely as any physical bond, and a twig snaps.

* * *

Bellamy tenses slightly as Clarkes breathing halts for a moment in the transition from sleep to full wakefulness, but keeps still. In the light of the full moon he can see her eyes open, scanning their minimalist camp site before allowing any of her suddenly tense muscles to move. "Just a rabbit" he says, watching her form relax again in response.

"You were talking" he continued, stating the facts without judging, "nothing I could make out. Any louder and I think I'd have to wake you." Bellamy watches Clarke as she absorbs this information, stoic as usual. He can see her expression harden slightly even in the shadows of the night.

* * *

Clarke sets her expression in stone before allowing herself to consider what she might have been saying. The dreams had been coming with increased frequency and intensity. The details were both vivid and fleeting -- she could still feel the cool moss against her skin. "Good" she replied, choosing not to clarify which fact relieved her.

"No point in moving until dawn" Clarke said, putting it forward as much as a question as a statement. Bellamy nodded, the chiselled lines of his face revealing the motion even as he sat largely in darkness. It was his watch until first light, and Clarke knew she should get more rest before they set out to return to camp. More rest, and perhaps one more dream.

* * *

Bellamy settled in with his back pressed against a tree to wait out the night. His ears alert he allowed himself a moment to watch Clarke as her eyes closed and she relaxed back into sleep. She had reacted well to the issue of making noise, accepting his criticism without anger. He could respect that. He wished had more of that in himself.

His eyes wandered idly across Clarke as her breathing slowed. Layers of clothing to protect from the chill in the air left only suggestions of the curves and figure he knew lay beneath. Relaxed in sleep her face was tender, beautiful. Bellamy sighed and shook his head slightly. They had to lead together, there was no time for this kind of distraction. She hated him.

* * *

Clarke felt rough bark beneath her naked skin as she pressed up against the trunk of a tree, and all memories of cool moss were gone. Her arms stretched up above her head as she stretched out, pressing her body forward eagerly.

Green eyes pinned Clarke in place as they moved towards her.


	6. Blood and Fire

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A vision, a prophecy.

Clarke looked up at the stars in the night sky and tensed her shoulder muscles. The leather cuffs on her wrists held her arms firmly outstretched and she relaxed again, feeling the momentary relief of having moved her body to the limits allowed. The stars shone down on her naked body, but the moon was nowhere to be found tonight.

The camp fire in front her her flickered and illuminated the small clearing. The space was framed by evergreens, far enough back to leave a hole in the canopy, but near enough to create an intimate space. Wood in the fire cracked and spit, and Clarke started to pull back before being firmly reminded of her bonds -- arms and legs spread wide, tied off to two sturdy trees. Cool night air caressed her back, while the heat of the fire warmed her from the front.

* * *

Lexa stepped forward out of the shadows on the far side of the clearing, and looked at Clarke. Her captive was exposed, limbs pulled away from her core, naked to the air of the night, and yet she looked calm. She looked like she belonged there. Lexa met her gaze, and allowed a moment for them to recognise each other.

"This can not simply be" Lexa said as she strode forward, walking around the fire that snapped and flared in the midst of the clearing. "Our people have history now." She walked up close and reached out with one hand to run fingertips down the bare flank of Clarke, feeling ribs beneath skin stretched tight by the pose. "A price must be paid to satisfy them. A price in blood, and a price in fire."

* * *

The fire leapt into the sky as Lexa tossed a bundle of wood onto it, drawing from a stockpile to the side of the clearing. As the flames consumed the fresh fuel a wave of heat washed across Clarkes body, caressing her naked skin. Clarke felt her skin grow tight against her nipples and cheeks, unable to draw back or press forward into the welcome warmth. Cool night air licked up between her spread legs to contrast with the warmth of the blaze.

The light and shadow played across breasts and thighs. Lexa stalked forward and walked past Clarke, one hand casually tracing the line of Clarkes hip as she dodged the taut rope and swung in close behind. "Fire consumes, but it also reveals" Lexa whispered, her lips brushing against Clarkes ear. Clarke felt a leather clad arm pressing into the small of her back, forcing her torso forward towards the heat of the fire. "The flames show the true nature of whatever survives their passing."

* * *

Clarke felt the dry heat of the fire as she was pressed forward. Her hips and torso tilted forward, and her head fell back towards in response. She pressed her head against her captor and relaxed her arms and legs, allowing her body to be shaped by the forces acting upon it. Her eyes fell closed but the flickering of the flames still played against her eyelids.

Eyes closed Clarke felt adrift in time and space. The clearing was wrapped in shadows, and any number of eyes might watch from the concealment of the woods, but Clarke knew she was alone, alone with her captor. She should be fighting, struggling against the insanity of this trial, but her body felt at peace, cradled by the leather straps around her wrists and ankles, supported by the leather clad forearm pressed into her back. Clarke felt lips against her ear and twisted not to get away, but to bring her own lips closer.

* * *

Lexa felt Clarke relaxing against her, accepting the reality of their situation. She knew Clarke did not understand fully yet, the sky people never did until it was too late -- but she also knew Clarke would when the time came. Lexa re-positioned and met Clarkes lips with her own. One hand crept around Clarkes rips and explored the curves of her breast, the jutting nipple reaching forward towards the heat of the fire. Their tongues danced briefly before Lexa pulled her head backwards.

"Fire cleans, and fire reveals" Lexa explained to Clarke, as her hands continued to position and explore Clarkes body, keeping tension on the ropes holding her limbs at full extension. "Fire will reveal the truth, but only blood can right the wrongs of the past." Lexa reached down to her own hip and then brought her arm up slowly, displaying the blade for Clarke. The firelight gleamed off the polished steel, and Lexa pressed her body against Clarkes as she took a deep breath in response.

* * *

The knife reflected the light from the fire like a laser, focused down to a sharp edge that mirrored its own. The steel had picked up the chill of the night and the back edge seemed almost to cut as Lexa guided it across Clarkes collarbone, down her chest, between the swell of her breasts. The blade rode lightly and responded to very motion as Clarke inhaled sharply before catching and holding her breath.

Guided and feather light the tip of the blade traced across Clarkes stomach, only the slightest of scratches left behind. "Blood is what takes us past reality" Lexa breathed, her voice so quiet it was almost lost amidst the snapping of the fire. "Blood takes us through the truth and into the future." Whisper sharp the blade inscribed the lightest of marks down one hipbone, and up the next.

* * *

Clarke exhaled and breathed in sharply, feeling the warmth on her hips as tiny beads of blood welled to the surface. Pressed forward by Lexas weight, stretched out by the straps on her wrists and ankles, she felt the blood bead on her skin, felt it yield life giving moisture to the heat of the flames dancing before her. Between her legs another wetness grew, one that the distant fire could not dry.

Her mouth opened, not to cry out or to plead for mercy, but to mirror the openness of her body. Firm but gentle fingers curved around Clarkes jaw and pressed into her mouth. Clarke tasted the copper tang of blood. She felt Lexa draw back slightly as the knife inscribes slight marks across her shoulders. She arced her back to fully stretch out the skin as the tip of the blade danced down the length of her spine.

* * *

Lexa stepped back around Clarkes body, one hand still pressed into her mouth. She gently pulled Clarkes jaw down slightly so that their eyes met. "You showed no fear" Lexa said, her voice flat but betrayed by the tenderness of her touch. "You will pay the price when the time comes, this is clear." Lexa drew her free hand up between Clarkes legs and across her hip before licking the fluids off her fingertips.

She pressed her body close against Clarkes, releasing her mouth only to reclaim it with her lips. One hand reached up and pressed firmly between Clarkes spread legs, and Lexa was rewarded with a muffled gasp of pleasure, and a naked body pressing eagerly into her own. Above, the timeless stars looked down.


	7. An Awakening

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dreams must end; the dawn must come.

Sunlight tempered by cloud glinted off blue eyes firm with resolve as Clarke stepped forward out through the camp gate. The scent of grass wet with dew hung in the air. Clarke strode across the green field, and towards the wall of grounders clad in brown leather. The grounders looked back with contempt and menace, a thousand pairs of eyes focused on her.

Clarke felt nervous, exposed, and vulnerable; however she would not reveal this to the watchers. Brushing off stares of venom and words of poison, Clarke found her way to the tent. In the early morning light insects hummed and birds sang, either unaware or unconcerned with the human drama unfolding below. A grounder reached out and the worn fabric of the tent entrance was drawn aside.

* * *

Green eyes looked upwards and caught glimpses of the tempered blue of the sky. Screened by clouds it reminded Lexa of well used steel peeking through the shredded fabric of the tent. Lexa allowed herself only a moment staring into the sky, looking into the chaos of the clouds for answers about those who came down through them. Her people could not see her indecisive, could not see her lost in thought.

Lexa was conscious of everything today -- her posture on the throne, the tension of her second. The army camped outside felt like a coiled muscle ready to strike. Voices leaked through the thin walls of the tent, from afar and then near. Like stone grinding on stone Lexa heard her guard speak. Finally the curtain of fabric across the tent entrance was drawn aside.

* * *

Clarke stepped across the threshold of the tent, and blue eyes met green. Lexa sat relaxed on her throne, and green eyes met blue. The air was still, and the people were silent. For a moment the Earth hung motionless in space, and everything changed.


End file.
